U.S. consumer credit down by most since April 1992

Most of decline in loans for automobiles and other nonrevolving credit

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- U.S. consumer credit outstanding fell by the biggest amount since April 1992 in September as households took out fewer loans for items like automobiles and boats, the Federal Reserve said Tuesday.

Total consumer credit fell by $1.20 billion in September, or by a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 0.61%, to $2.366 trillion, the Fed said.

In April 1992, outstanding consumer credit fell by $1.78 billion, according to the Fed.

The decline was unexpected. Wall Street economists surveyed by MarketWatch were expecting consumer credit to grow by $5.4 billion in September. See Economic Calendar.

Most of the decline was in so-called nonrevolving credit, like loans for cars and boats. Nonrevolving credit fell by $4.05 billion, or by a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.21%, to $1.50 billion.

The drop in nonrevolving credit is the largest since October 1991, when it fell by $4.81 billion.

Revolving credit like credit card loans, meanwhile, grew by $2.85 billion, or at an annual rate of 4.00%, to $857 billion.

Meanwhile, total consumer credit for August was revised upward, to rise at a 4.65% annual rate, or by $9.13 billion. It had previously been estimated to rise by $4.99 billion.

The consumer credit data is subject to large revisions. The data do not include home mortgages or other loans secured by real estate.

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